1. Technical Field
This disclosure generally relates to watering plants, and more specifically relates to systems for watering plants.
2. Background Art
The health of plants depends on many factors, including how much water the plant receives, and the proper space of time between watering. Many different systems have been developed over the years for watering plants. For example, sprinkler systems have been developed for watering grass, while drip irrigation systems are often used for individual trees or plants. Most known watering systems are manual, which require a person to turn on the water to the watering system, then manually turn off the water later when the person believes the plants have received enough water. Other known watering systems are timed and turn on at set periodic intervals. For example, a residential system for watering the lawn and bushes at a person's house can be set to turn on every other day for a half hour. Both manual and timed watering systems typically do not take into account whether or not the plant actually needs water. For example, in the timed residential system referenced above, if a rain storm waters the grass during the night before the system is set to turn on, the timed system will still turn on and water the grass, even though the grass does not need watering due to the rain storm.
The problem with using manual or timed systems discussed above can be somewhat mitigated by incorporating one or more moisture sensors that measure the moisture in the soil, then turn on the watering system only when the soil needs moisture. Thus, in the example given above with a rain storm occurring during the night that waters a lawn, when the time comes for the watering system to turn on automatically the next morning, the watering system will not be turned on if the reading from one or more moisture sensor indicates the lawn does not need to be watered.
Many different systems have been developed over the years for monitoring moisture in soil. Some farmers use moisture sensors that indicate the moisture level of the soil, which information the farmer can use to adjust the irrigation schedule for the farmer's crops. Other moistures sensors have been developed for house plants. One known moisture sensor called Chirp can be installed near a plant and emits a tiny chirp when the soil is dry, indicating the plant needs to be watered. The alarm level for the Chirp can be set for each plant individually.
Known moisture sensors typically include electronics that can precisely measure the moisture content of the soil, sometimes in increments of less than 1%. This type of sophisticated moisture measurement is not needed in determining the water needs of most plants, including houseplants.
Most people water houseplants periodically. Many people tend to over-water houseplants, which can make the houseplants less healthy. Some people go for long periods of time between waterings, which can result in the soil in the pot contracting away from the sides of the pot. When this occurs, once the person waters the plant again, there is a nearly direct route for water to flow past the soil into the catch basin on the pot, instead of being soaked up by the soil. What is needed is a way to water plants that overcomes the disadvantages discussed above.